Telling the Story, Selling the Story

How to Create A Brand Spanking New Website

Ten years ago this month, I started WriteWords Editorial. And not long
after that, my website went
up. It was designed by Samantha Clooney of The Virtual Office, who has since
become a good friend. I went for a blue and white design to match my logo. It was
soft on the eye, and the blue writing against a white background was easy to
read.

And this website has remained more or less untouched ever since. There
have been some changes here and there, but the fundamental design, layout and
content have remained the same. But now, on the tenth anniversary of
WriteWords, it’s time for a change. It won’t be a radical change, because if it
ain’t broke, why fix it. But in the years since the website was created, people
have begun to access the Internet in various ways, and the website needs to be
adapted to respond to that.

The website will have the same blue colour scheme and roughly the same
information. The message of the website, that WriteWords helps people tell
their story, will be fundamentally unchanged. But the information will be
arranged differently. It will be arranged so that it will all be in one place, and
if people want to access the information on it, all they have to do is scroll
down through a homepage which will be a hub for all the website’s content.

Choosing a Template

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had an enjoyable time window shopping for templates which will form the basis for the design of my website. In recent times, templates have taken over as the main design tool for websites. So, on Samantha Clooney’s advice, I trawled through Template Monster and I found a template that I believe will deliver my goal of a clean website that’s easy for people to browse through.

I was pretty dazzled by the choice on offer, so Samantha gave me some
pointers to tell me what to look for. In the template I have chosen, people can
see two things straight away when they visit the website: my list of services
and my contact details. Then as they scroll down, they’ll see a homepage
message and an about us, telling them what WriteWords is and what it can do for
them.

Exploring the Website

As they scroll further, they’ll discover more about the services I offer
and how they can be of help. There’ll be snippets of teaser content on the
homepage that will entice them to read on. If they decide to read on, they’ll
be brought to a new page, which will give more details about each service, and
the services within each service.

My core services will remain unchanged. I’ll still have a page for my writing
workshops, a page for my content writing services and a page for editing. But
I’ll be adding two new service pages. One is for my transcription services, which
I’ve kept under the radar up to now, but I’ve discovered that transcription is
an in-demand skill, so I’ve decided to let people know what I can offer.

The other is a writing consultancy. I already offer some of these
services, but now I’ll be putting them under one umbrella. Rather than create
content for people, I’ll give them strategies for writing their own. I’ll help
them get to the heart of what they want to say and give them a structure which
will help them to say it. These will be one-to-one sessions, in which I’ll
discuss people’s ideas with them and then compile a report outlining
recommendations that will help them take their project to the next level.

When you browse through this website, it will be clear to you what
WriteWords is about and what it can offer you. You’ll also see the latest
entries in this blog. Even though my offering will be the same, I’m hoping
it’ll look and feel fresh because of how it’s presented. The website will be
launched in the next few weeks, and I’ll be shouting about it from the rooftops
when it is. I’ll post a link to the website on this blog, and I hope you’ll
take a moment to browse through it.
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